The invention set forth in this specification primarily pertains to a transfer mechanism which can be utilized in moving an article from one location to another location. The invention is intended for use in connection with toys in which such an article is a figurine constructed in such a manner that it will move by gravity down an inclined surface. It is considered, however, that the invention has utility in connection with moving other types of articles in the toy and in other fields.
Toys in which an object such as a figurine is moved by a carrier such as a train located on a track from a first or pickup location to a second or discharge location and in which the object is removed from the carrier in the second location and is conveyed in one manner or another to the first location and back to the carrier are considered to have significant utility for play purposes by comparatively young children. Such toys are believed to tend to stimulate the imaginitive character of children to a greater extent than toys which merely transport articles around a track. For economic reasons it is considered quite desirable to construct toys in which a figurine is transferred from a carrier at one side of a track to the same carrier at the other side of the track so as to utilize gravity to convey the figurine from one location to another.
This has led to the realization that it is extremely desirable to utilize so-called "ball people" type figurines in connection with the toys as noted. Such figurines are constructed so as to each have a body more or less simulating an imaginary figure form terminating in a bottom cavity. A weighted ball is located in such a bottom cavity so as to be rotatable within such a cavity and so as to extend from the bottom of the cavity past the bottom of the figurine. Such "ball people" type figurines will tend to "waddle" down an inclined chute or ramp through the action of gravity in a manner more or less simulating walking.
The utilization of such "ball people" type figurines in toys in which such figurines are moved off a carrier at one location and are replaced upon a carrier at another location has presented something of a problem because of the fact that if the figurine is to be moved by gravity between two locations it is necessary to move the figurine upwardly either as it is removed from the carrier or upon replacing it on the carrier. Various structures which have been considered for this purpose are not considered to be completely desirable for any one of a variety of different reasons.
It is considered that a structure in which the carrier moves from a first or pickup location very close to a supporting surface to a much more elevated second or discharge location in order to obtain enough height differential so that a figurine will move by gravity between the two locations is undesirable. Such a structure is considered to be desirable in a toy because of the extent that the second location has to be elevated above the first in order to obtain the desired movement of the figurine. In addition to this height differential being comparatively undesirable this type of structure is also considered undesirable because of the power requirements necessary to move the carrier between the two locations.